The Lost Chip
by Dawn Totadile
Summary: Chip has been captured by Fat Cat and its up to Dale to save him, but will the Rescue Rangers make it in time to save their leader? Find out as they also learn something about the two chipmunks who lead their team and the kind of life they had before hand. Rated due to my version of violence and gore I guess. Sorry but I felt compelled to write this story,... Rescue Rangers Away!
1. Prolouge

Prologue

Sometimes, some crimes go slipping through the cracks, but these few gumshoes are picking up the slack. There's no case to big, no case to small, if you need help just call Chip and Dale's Rescue Rangers. These were simple facts that could be observed throughout the animal kingdom. They always seem to know just what to do when problems came there way. All it took was someone to ask for help and they'd all come running faster than Monterey could sniff out cheese. There was Monterey Jack the Cheese explorer and his pal Zipper, the fly, and Gadget Hackwrench, their mechanic and pilot. Then there was the two chipmunks who were the best of friends, Chip and Dale.

At the moment though, Chip was in trouble. Chip had found himself beaten and tied up to a chair. He had no clue how long he had been there, only that he was the bait for his friends. He was only alive enough to still be bait. He hated it. He knew who was doing this to him, who was humiliating him and endangering his friends. He knew they had already sent a video of him. He had seen the camera. He had seen Fat Cat, his arch nemesis, laughing at him as Fat Cat's lackeys pummeled him. He was barely able to keep conscious anymore. He was all on his own now.


	2. Chapter 1: Chip

Chip recalled how he had gotten into this mess in the first place. He had been all alone when he heard the alarm. Someone in town had been stealing fish again and to top it off there was also a sudden rise of robberies as well. Gadget and Dale were in Africa on a mission to help the bats with some issues they've been having with their sonar senses. Monty and Zipper had gone to visit Monty's parents in Australia. Chip was on his own in the treehouse. He hadn't thought that the case was too dangerous to do on his own, so he hadn't bothered to call the others for help. He made the mistake of thinking that he could scout around without getting caught, but they were expecting him. Fat Cat knew that at least one Rescue Ranger would show up, and if one showed up, then he could use them as bait for the rest. Fat Cat had gotten lucky because Chip, the leader of the Rescue Rangers, had fallen for his schemes and was now his prisoner.

Chip looked up weakly while trying to stay awake. He missed his friends. He missed Zipper buzzing around the treehouse. He missed Monterey's adventure stories. He missed Gadget's inventions swooping in and saving their tails. He didn't have to think hard about the thing he missed and yet worried about the most, his twin brother, Dale. Dale was always getting into some type of trouble without meaning to. He just couldn't help it. Surprisingly enough, it was often his wild, fun loving side, which allowed him to help save the day.

Chip managed to grimace as he passed out once more thinking of his best friend and brother. The last thought on his mind was about their first adventure where they had met the others on the team and got started on their career as Rescue Rangers. Dale had been a big help that day.

'… Dale's always been a big help… Dale… where are you Dale?' How was Chip to know that at that very moment, Dale was wondering the same thing about him?


	3. Chapter 2: Dale's Secret Side

When they had all came home, they had found that Chip had been missing for a week. They couldn't imagine how much trouble he was in until they saw Mole wandering around trying to find them so he could deliver a tape. Monterey had nearly shaken the poor creature to death to find out what was on the tape. Mole barely managed to escape from the angry mouse as Gadget put the tape onto their screen in their base. She called Monterey up while Dale watched the screen intently, as though his life depended on it.

The remaining Rescue Rangers were stunned as they looked at a video of Chip being beaten by Fat Cat's gang. Dale's eyes widened as he saw his best friend bleeding and bruised. His jacket was shredded and his hat was nowhere in sight, probably being used as a trophy by Fat Cat. "Let this be a lesson to you all. Never mess with Fat Cat, unless you wish to feel my wrath." The tape cut off so suddenly that they could barely believe it.

Everyone but Dale was panicking. Dale was just sitting there, stunned, staring at the screen. "Chip…" Dale closed his eyes and for probably the first time in years, he started to think seriously.

Monterey grabbed a bag full of rope and other objects for any kind of rescue he could think of. "Let's go get 'em, gang! We'll make 'em pay for what they did to our li'l Chipper!"

"Monty, we can't go without a plan though! We could all end up captured and then there'd be no one to save him." Gadget pulled on the large mouse's tail to try and stop him from doing something rash. Zipper was trying to push him back from the front, but the little fly wasn't doing much help with that.

When Dale opened his eyes, there was a dangerous glare in them. Something in him had awakened from his youth. He had almost lost Chip over a million times because of all these crazy things that happened in their lives, but now he was in a situation where Chip wasn't just going to pull a miracle stunt and walk right on in. Chip needed help, and Dale wasn't going to let his best friend down. He looked towards the argument and sighed. He knew what he had to do, but he didn't like it. He had promised himself that he would never do it again, though he had come close many times since joining the Rescue Rangers. Dale would have to use his special skills, which he had forgotten long ago.

Dale looked towards Zipper, Monterey, and Gadget, noticing their arguing wasn't stopping them from going closer to the door. He decided that he needed to stop acting like nutcase Dale and start acting like Danger Dale; the average intelligent, but exceedingly dangerous chipmunk that had scared Chip as a child, or so Dale thought. Dale didn't have a knack for inventing, but he did have a head for being resourceful, which was often dangerous to the young chipmunks. Dale had promised himself that he would never become Danger Dale ever again, which had resulted in him becoming a goofball. After a few years, Chip had forgotten all about Dale being smart, and that was how Dale liked it.

"HEY!" Dale was not going to let him being a goofball for the last few years make him lose his friends. All three stopped and looked at him in astonishment. Dale rarely yelled at them. "Chip's in trouble and we've gotta save him! This is no time for arguing!" Dale ran up to his private room that none of the other Rescue Rangers had access to. He unlocked to door and took a deep breath. "It's to save Chip, just remember that…" He walked in and within five minutes came back out wearing an outfit similar to Chip's signature outfit. The only difference was that he was wearing a matching satchel with it. "It's time for Danger Dale to show his face again." He walked right up to Monterey Jack, who was still arguing with Gadget about going after Chip. "If you two are just going to stand there arguing, I'm going after Chip on my own."

"But Dale!" The two then got a good look at Dale's outfit. He looked just like Chip. The only way to tell them apart was the red nose and the satchel. "Whoa! Where'd ya get that outfit, pally?"

"Forget the outfit, we need to save Chip. Now are you all going to keep arguing or are you going to listen to my plan?" Dale had never looked so serious in his life.

Gadget was too stunned to speak. She had never realized how much alike the two chipmunks really were. Monterey on the other hand was more surprised that Dale had a plan, or even had the gumption to interrupt their argument. He was usually just a childish chipmunk that was taken care of by his friend, Chip. Now that Chip was in trouble, Dale wasn't going to let that stop him. He was going after his pal. "You have a plan, pally?"

"Of course I do! We're going to the casino and while you create a distraction, I rescue Chip. It's not that hard to do! We make distractions there all the time! Look, just have Gadget dress up and do dancing while you start playing piano or something. Zipper, you keep watch and if Fat Cat or the others come anywhere need them, I want you to pull the second switch from the right on the light switches. It will black out the whole place. Gadget, you and Monty will need some night vision goggles so that you can get out of there. Make sure Zipper has some too. I'm going to sneak in and find Chip while you keep Fat Cat and his goons occupied. Any questions?" Before they could ask, he was already off towards the Ranger Plane.


	4. Chapter 3: To Rescue a Rescue Ranger

It didn't take long for Dale's plan to work. Everyone was shocked. He had tried to be leader on the day that Fat Cat had stolen seashells to capture fish. That incident hadn't worked out too well, but it seems that Dale hadn't really been at the top of his game that day. Gadget had Fat Cat and the others distracted while Monterey played the piano. Zipper stayed in the shadows next to the light switch just as Dale had told him.

While all that was happening up top, Dale was wandering the old cat food factory underneath it, looking for his friend. It didn't take him long to find a small trail of blood drops. "Chip!" Dale ran after the trail as fast as he could, running through the maze of the factory. Wart, a moronic lizard, was guarding a door. Dale didn't have time to deal with him though, Chip was hurt and needed help. Dale grabbed some rope that he had stuffed into his bag. "Just gotta aim it right… got it!" He had latched onto the tail of the unfortunate lizard.

"What was that?" He looked towards the end of the rope and noticed the unfortunate chipmunk. "Oh, it's the other Chipmunk! Heh, Fat Cat will be so proud of me." He started towards Dale, only to find the young chipmunk running around his legs and tripping him up. "OOF!"

Dale then hit him on the head. "Night, night!" Wart was out like a light. Dale glared at the unconscious lizard, making sure he would no longer be any trouble. When he was satisfied, he ran into the room through a hole in the door that was large enough for Fat Cat. What he saw in the room was worse than what had been shown on the tape.

Chip was unconscious and tied to a chair, bleeding and bruised, as though he had barely come out of a war zone. Chip's coat was in tatters and his hat was on a nearby dart on a dart board with a picture of Chip on it.

"Chip… Chip!" Dale ran to the chipmunk and started untying him, all the while trying to reassure himself that his best friend wasn't dead. "Come on, Chip, talk to me! Chip! Oh please be okay!"

Chip could hear a voice, but he wasn't sure of whose voice it was. Everything seemed to echo to him. He barely managed to open his eyes. He turned his head towards what he thought was a memory. He recognized the outfit to be his own, but the chipmunk wearing it had a red nose and a surprisingly serious face on it. "D…d…Dale…?" He barely managed to whisper as Dale finally undid the rope and Chip started to fall forward from the chair.

Dale barely caught him. "I got you Chip. Just hang on." He picked up the poor chipmunk carefully and ran towards the Ranger Plane. He gently placed Chip in the back of the plane. He then flew up to find Gadget, Monterey and Zipper waiting for him just outside the casino. He let down the rope ladder and the two mice climbed up while the fly flew up as fast as he could.

"CHIP!" Zipper nearly screamed as he caught sight of the beaten rodent.

"Oh my! Chip!" Gadget's eyes widened with fear as she climbed into the passenger seat as Dale started the plane off towards their base.

"Oh poor little Chipper! He looks…!"

"Don't even say it Monterey!" Dale glared at him as he sat himself down next to Chip and Zipper. Monterey closed his lips and looked back to a cursing Fat Cat at the edge of his Casino building.


	5. Chapter 4: The Chipmunk Story

Dale and Gadget both worked together with Zipper's help to bandage up their friend. Monterey kept himself occupied by looking for a spare outfit for Chip in the twins' room. What he found instead shocked him.

"Blimey!" He whispered in shock. He had found a journal that Chip had been writing. Chip had been writing in journals since he was a very small chipmunk. He would often bring out his recent journals during the holidays and remind everyone about old adventures they had together. The particular journal in Monterey's hand was from before Chip and Dale had met them all and started the Rescue Rangers. He was surprised to find that he had accidently stumbled on such an old book. He sat himself down at the kitchen table and started reading it, hoping to find out why Dale was acting the way he was, but what he found was more than he bargained for.

Gadget looked at Dale's determined expression as he dabbed his brother's head with a damp washcloth. "You're gonna be okay, Chip… you're gonna be okay… Chip…" Dale's eyes were filled with tears as he thought about all the times they had been in danger, and yet, it never really felt all that dangerous, not like this at least. There had always been a bit of danger with their lives, but they hadn't had anything this bad since they were children.

Gadget decided to leave them alone and took Zipper downstairs to talk to Monterey. "How is he?" Monterey asked as he looked up from the book. He had just finished reading about an incident that had happened just before Dale had started being, well, Dale the dummy.

"Chip should be fine, he's still unconscious though. He looked pretty bad, but Dale and I patched him up as much as we could. Hopefully, he'll be awake enough in the morning to eat something. He doesn't look like he's eaten anything in days." Gadget sat down next to Monterey while Zipper sat on the table.

"I hope so too, but what about Dale? How's he doing?"

Gadget looked up with a bit of confusion. "Dale? He's just sitting there next to Chip, watching over him. He keeps trying to reassure himself that he's going to be okay and dabbing Chip's forehead with that cloth. Why? Do you think something's wrong with Dale too?" Gadget had lived in isolation after her dad had died and was still trying to get used to understanding other creatures reactions.

"I think I just found out why Dale usually acts like a complete goofball…" He showed the journal with some newspaper clippings from a small chipmunk village in the redwood forests of California. One of them said, "Twin Detectives solve missing Acorn thefts and save robin from bobcat." Another was about the two figuring out how to stop a bunch of humans from cutting down their forest. The last clipping was connected to a written entry from Chip himself. The clipping had the two wearing a set of bandages on their heads in a hospital room, one with a goofy smile on his face and the other with concerned look.

**_Chip's log: Dale and I were working on a simple task to collect acorns for the orphanage we live in. It was supposed to be simple at least. We didn't count on the local trouble coming through and trying to rough us up. I blacked out pretty quickly after knocking Jimmy No-Feet down off of my branch. The last thing I saw was Dale being surrounded by a group of mockingbird thugs. When I woke up, me and Dale were in the infirmary and it was spring. We had been unconscious for the entire winter. Dale was no longer able to think seriously without strain and I hated myself for that. I blame myself for Dale not being able to think anymore. I'm going to take him away from here and go live in another city, somewhere safer. There's an old acorn tree in this city I know of, so that shouldn't be too hard. I'll wait till we can move again. I won't drag him into this sort of thing again, after all, it's my fault he's like this… it's all my fault…_**

The rest of the page was covered in tear drops and smeared. Gadget and the others looked at each other with tears in their eyes. They hadn't realized that their friends held this bad of a secret. This explained while Chip was always so concerned about Dale, and why Dale was always goofing around. They couldn't help it!

"I knew they were always over protective of each other, but I didn't think it was because of something like this…" Monterey's eyes were filled to the brim with tears as he thought about all the times he had had with his parents while the boys only had each other at an orphanage in the California Redwoods. He then thought about how they always worried about everyone in the group, especially Chip. The day that he had introduced them to Cassandra, the gypsy moth, had terrified everyone. The had thought that they were all going to lose Chip, who's only concern was to help others. Dale had actually stepped up his game a bit that day, as he had started to seem smarter. They had thought that Chip was going to be crushed by an elephant's trunk when he was really nearly crushed by a treasure trunk with his friends trapped in it. Dale had nearly lost it until they heard Chip's voice from a small hole under the chest. He had apparently found a small hole in the floorboards and ducked into there as the trunk fell, nearly killing him.

Gadget thought about how protective she and her dad had been of each other before his death. Looking back, having only one person to turn to for help, she started to understand part of what Chip and Dale had gone through. Zipper had a whole family of flies as well as Monterey to watch out for him before they became Rescue Rangers. They had all had families, but Chip and Dale had only had each other.

While the other two sat down and absorbed all this information, Monterey decided to check up on the boys. He grabbed a large cracker for the boys and walked upstairs. He was surprised to find that Chip was awake and Dale was now asleep. It seems that Dale had cried himself to sleep while clutching Chip's paw. Chip was now stroking his brother's fur while crying silently to himself. He heard the door open and noticed Monterey come in with a cracker. Monterey grimaced and left the large cracker next to the bed for the two chipmunks if they were hungry. He then walked downstairs with a lighter feeling in his heart. Chip was alright, so that meant that Dale would be alright too. They would be alright.


	6. Chapter 5: Recovery

Chip had awoken to find a snoring Dale lying his head next to him while still sitting in a chair. He noticed the hat and bag as well. They were old, but at the same time still seemed as new as when Dale had gotten them from their father. He stroked his brother's head with worry, hoping that his brother was alright. For a moment he thought he was a child again and he was still recovering from the fight that had made his brother become… silly, for lack of a better word. Monterey Jack quickly dissolved that thought as he entered and left a large saltine cracker for him. Monterey then left and went downstairs, no doubt to tell the others that he was up. He soon found himself back asleep, trying to figure out what to do and how he was going to make it up to his team, not to mention his brother. He felt so useless.

When Chip woke again later, Dale was up as well and was relieved to find his twin brother was awake. "Chip!" He hugged his brother tenderly, trying not to hurt him anymore than he already was. "You're awake! Are you okay?"

"Ugh, yeah, just fine, Dale…" Chip winced as his brother hugged his bruised ribs.

"Whoops, sorry, Chip." Dale blushed as he backed off, noticing his brother's pain.

Chip smiled weakly to his twin brother. "I'm fine, Dale… what about you guys, are you all okay?"

"Huh? Yeah, of course we are! We were all pretty worried about you though, I mean, you looked pretty bad for a while there." Chip noticed that Dale was back to wearing his red Hawaiian shirt with the yellow flowers on it.

There was no sign of "Danger" Dale in the room, save for in the dark brown eyes of his twin. They were filled with a dangerous spark that had been hidden for years, one of intelligence, one of worry, one that said "I'll protect you no matter what happens." It was the way with these twins when danger had come into their young lives.

Chip closed his eyes for a few more seconds, trying to ease his breathing, making his breaths long and slow while he thought about all this. "Get some rest, Chip. I'll be downstairs with the others if you need us. Just call, okay?" Chip opened his eyes to see the tears still in his brother's eyes. He nodded weakly. He couldn't do much else yet and didn't want to worry them all any more than he already had.

When Dale got downstairs, he found the others looking at an old scrapbook. He stopped, frozen with fear as he saw them looking at the old newspaper clippings with the twin chipmunks on them. He looked at his friends, trying to think of some way to explain himself, but found none. He gritted his teeth and looked down, wishing he had never left his brother alone. If he had just stayed behind with him, then he wouldn't have been captured and none of this would've happened, and his friends wouldn't have found out how much of a disappointment he was.

He was stunned when Gadget came up to him and hugged him tightly while crying. He didn't know how to respond. Dale felt weak in his knees. He had expected his friends to be angry at him and Chip for hiding that part of their past from them, but at the same time he was slightly relieved. They didn't hate him or his brother. They weren't even angry with them. They were concerned. He looked at Monty over Gadget's shoulder and saw him and Zipper wiping tears from their eyes. They were all worried for him and his brother.

Dale sighed and patted Gadget on the back. "Chip's gonna be fine." He whispered, mostly to reassure himself of this fact. The group sat back down at the table and let Dale take a moment to breathe and think.

He glanced at the scrap book and grimaced at the serious duo that looked out at him from the newspaper clippings. The one that was currently showing was a clip about their great rescue of the mayor's daughter, Sunny, the squirrel.

Dale's face then got serious again, or at least as serious as his childish face had ever gotten. "I think we need to take a break…" He picked up the scrapbook, grimaced and asked, "Anyone know when the next flight to the Redwoods is?"


	7. Chapter 6: Home Again, Home Again

The California Redwoods were taller than any trees that the gang had ever seen. Sure, it had taken a week before Chip was allowed to move from his bed, but Dale didn't mind, so long as his brother was fine. He was now in a wheelchair that had been placed next to his brother in the back of the Ranger Plane. Chip and Dale were looking at the trees around them with a smile while the others were awestruck at the height and majesty of the tall trees.

"Halt, this is our airspace!" The gang looked forward to see a blackbird glaring at them. He wore a bowler hat and a striped t-shirt, much like the bird goon that the twins had faced on their first case before they had met their friends.

Gadget was about to make an emergency landing so as not to cause trouble, but then she heard a set of voices from behind her. "Oh give it a break, Charlie!"

"Yeah, we don't have time for this!" Dale had a slingshot in his hands already. "I hit the target, you leave us be, same as for everyone else, right?"

"Uh…?" Charlie Crow was stunned. He didn't know any chipmunk that wore a Hawaiian shirt, but he recognized the other one. "CHIPPERSON CHIPMUNK?!" The black nosed chipmunk glared at the crow as his full first name was revealed.

"Hit it, Dale." Chip grumbled. Dale nodded and shot the slingshot's stone towards an apple stem that was painted red. The crow looked up in disbelief. "You still got it." Chip and Dale looked to each other and smiled. They still got it.

"That's… but he… but!" The crow's eyes widened as he started to back off. "That's impossible! You should be dead!" The crow then flew off with a panicky look in his eyes. "DEAD!"

Gadget and the others looked at the twin brothers who were just shaking their heads. "What did he mean by that? 'You should be dead'?"

Chip and Dale looked to eachother and then shrugged. "Not quite sure, Gadget, but see if you can land us down by the river." Chip pointed to a small river that ran through the forest. The inventor nodded and brought them in for a smooth landing with the plunger feet of her Ranger plane.

"Okay, here we are… um, wherever here is…" Gadget looked around confused. There didn't seem to be anywhere for anyone to live, except for birds.

"Dale, if you'd do the honors…"

"Right, Chip!" Dale hopped out of the plane and cupped his paws around his mouth. He then proceeded to shout, "CHIPMUNKS HO!"

He then found himself tackled by an over excited bluebird. "Dalton Chipmunk! Oh my gosh, you're okay! You're okay!" The bluebird then looked over to the flying contraption that had brought the chipmunk and spotted his twin. "Chipperson! Oh my gosh! You're both here!" Monterey lifted Chip's wheelchair out of the plane and carefully placed it on the ground. The bluebird froze in her tracks as though she had been hit with a sudden winter blizzard. "Chipperson, what happened to you?"

"Oh, um, hey, Fiona, um… I sorta… got into a disagreement with a cat, that's all." The chipmunk blushed as he tried to figure out what to say. "Um, guys, this is our friend, Fiona Blue. Fiona, these are the Rescue Rangers, Gadget, Zipper, and Monterey."

The bluebird looked at the two mice and the fly, then back to the two chipmunks. "Chipperson, Dalton, where have you two been?"

"We… went to a city…"

"A city? Chipperson, everyone thought you had died. Jimmy no-legs was claiming he had eaten you both when you had run away." Fiona shook her head. "Figures that snake would lie, heh. Come on, we gotta let the others know you're okay." She flew behind the wheelchair and started pushing with Dale following as fast as he could.

"WHOA! Fiona! Slow down!" Chip called as he was rushed further into the forest. "We can't leave the others behind after all!"

Fiona stopped and looked back at the others. "Sorry about that. Got excited."

Monterey and the others finally caught up with questions on their mind. "Look, can someone explain what's going on here? Why is everyone calling you 'Chipperson', Chipper? And who's Dalton?"

"Um…" The twins blushed sheepishly. They hadn't been called by those names in so long that they had almost forgotten it was their real names. Dale, or rather Dalton, hated his the most.

Dale took a deep breath and sighed. "I'm Dalton…"

"And I'm Chipperson…"

"And we're the Chipmunk Twins…" Dale kicked a stone that was near his foot while grumbling. "The Twin sleuths if you will…" Chip nodded in agreement with his brother. It was a troubling thing for the two to think about. "We… used to solve mysteries and help out around our home here in Redwood."

"After a… an accident…" Chip stumbled upon his words, trying to hide what happened from his friends. "…I decided to take Chip away from here, hoping that we wouldn't end up…"

"Hoping that I'd get my mind fixed." Dale muttered. "Admit it, I'm an idiot sometimes…"

"Dale, you aren't an idiot! Everyone always said you were the smarter of us."

"THEY DID?" The rest of the Rescue Rangers gasped in surprise.

Dale blushed while his twin nodded his head. "Of course. Dale used to come up with tons of ideas!"

"Yeah, before they started to hurt my head…"

"You still have a few good ones… hey, what's that…?" Chip asked pointing to a rustling bush. In it was a set of eyes.

Dale squinted his eyes as he looked at the bush. He broke into a smile. "Dogpile!" He ran and jumped into the bush, causing the creature to start yelling out.

"AH!"

There seemed to be a tussle and before Monterey could go and get in on it, Chip stopped him. "Don't mind them, Dale's just having some fun."

"You sure? Sounds like a bit of a struggle in there."

Chip at that moment came out with something walking next to him with a few bruises. It was a dog! A black Labrador dog with a street cap, and a jean jacket. "You're lucky I was going easy on you, Dalton!" The dog growled.

Dale just laughed as he dusted himself off. "By what? My fist?"

"No, your nose!" Then the dog went into a whiny voice and started singing to the tune of _Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer_. "**_Dalton the red nosed chipmunk, wasn't very bright at all! And if you ever saw him, you'd think he was a …"_** Dale landed another punch on the dog's stomach.

"Don't even think about finishing that line." Dale growled. Chip shook his head. Some people never learned. Dale then remembered his friends. "Oh, right… guys, this is Lance. Lance, these are our friends, the Rescue Rangers." Lance was about to say something rude, but Dale beat him to the punch. "and don't you dare make one of your usual comments. These guys are nice."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." He took a step towards Gadget, took her paw in his kissed it lightly. "Bonjour, mademoiselle." Gadget blushed as she took her paw away.

"Um… hi…" Chip scowled. He didn't want Lance messing with Gadget's mind. Lance was a player, and Chip knew it. So did Dale and Fiona.

"Lance, why don't you go tell Sarah and the others that the twins are back?" Fiona suggested with a steely glance.

"Pfft, fine… whatever…"

"What was that about?" Monterey asked as he took over pushing Chip, following the bluebird as she led the way.

"Lance tends to be… a pain to put it simply. He doesn't know how to have a serious relationship other than enemies." Fiona explained as she led the group through the forest. Fiona then decided to change the subject. "So, what exactly have you guys been doing since you left?"

"Oh, you know, nothing to big…" Dale mumbled, slightly embarrassed.

"Yeah, just helping out where we can." Chip agreed.

"Nothing big? Why they started a team known as the Rescue Rangers, which just happens to be us, and they lead us all over the world to help animals in need!" Monterey nearly burst at his friends humility. He was rarely one for humility, but he did hate braggarts who were always showing off too much, especially at the expense of others.

"Hehe, sounds like fun."


	8. Chapter 7: Old Friends like Family

Dale slowly pushed Chip through some old bushes, leading their friends to an old little village that housed all sorts of animals. Monterey had never seen so many animals outside of a zoo or jungle. Gadget had never seen so many folks peddling goods, working shops, and even just in a village before. Redwood village was like an old fashioned village that seemed so peaceful, it was from a fairy tale. Zipper looked around with amazement, especially when he saw insects were also welcome there and getting along with the animals, just like him and his friends.

Chip noticed an old grey squirrel struggling with her acorns. "Um, Dale…" He pointed her out to his twin who nodded back.

Dale ran ahead, as his brother pulled to a stop. "Let me help you with that, Ms. Grey." Dale grabbed some of the falling acorns before the old squirrel tripped over them.

"Why thank you, young man." She was a kindly old lady who ran the local orphanage that the twins had grown up in most of their lives. Monterey also grabbed some from the old lady and followed her and Dale while Gadget started pushing Chip's wheelchair for him. Zipper was sitting on Dale's lap, smiling all the way. "Such kind young boys. Thank you Dalton, now… who's your friends here?" Ms. Grey asked as she led the group to a knotty old tree. On the tree was a small sign that said "Redwood Orphanage".

"They're the Rescue Rangers, Ms. Grey. We help people around the world." Dale smirked as he placed the acorns into a box labeled food.

"Good. I knew you boys were good ones. Just like your father." Ms. Grey smiled kindly and Chip and Dale grimaced. "Now, come inside you lot, we'll have some good old acorn stew tonight. Dalton, bring Chipperson in gently. This young gentleman can hold the door for you while the young lady and the young fly help me gather the young ones."

"Young ones?" Gadget asked as she followed the old squirrel.

"The other orphans that I take care of. I didn't only watch over Chipperson and Dalton, though the two of them were always a lot of trouble." Ms. Grey smirked.

After wheeling Chip into the tree, Dale and the others found themselves in a large room with tons of children playing as well as a few teenagers. Helping the kids with their toys were a couple of adults. One of which was a younger squirrel with yellowish fur and a blonde ponytail wearing a pink dress. She looked at the two boys with wide brown eyes and stood up. "Dalton? Chipperson?"

"Please don't say we're dead again, we just went to another town so that Dale could recover…" Chip tried to explain.

"Yeah, and you come back wounded?" The female squirrel asked as she walked up to them. She then grabbed Dale in a crushing hug, nearly choking the life out of the chipmunk. "Geez, Dalton, you've grown so tall!"

"Uh, thanks, Sunny. Um, these are our friends, the Rescue Rangers. This is Gadget Hackwrench, our mechanic and pilot." He explained as he was released from his old friend's embrace. Fiona just chuckled.

"Hello." Gadget waved.

"This is Monterey Jack, the famous Cheese explorer, as well as world adventurer." Chip smiled as he pointed out the large mouse.

"Too right, I've sailed three oceans, the seven seas, and a couple of puddles in search of the perfect wedge." He had a dreamy gaze on his face as he thought about cheese.

"And this is Zipper, who specializes in scouting out what the enemy is hiding." Dale said in a hushed whisper, trying to sound cool. Zipper couldn't help but puff up his chest trying to look tough. He was happy that Dale thought highly of him. "Rescue Rangers, this is Sunny Fur."

"I'm the mayor's daughter. It's nice to meet you." She wasn't too impressed with Gadget, but she did like Dalton and Chipperson, and how they had grown up since she had last seen them. She then frowned though as she looked at the chipmunk in a wheelchair. "What happened to you anyway? You look like you got mauled by a cat."

The rangers winced at that. Chip looked up to the sky, hoping for patience. "You aren't that far off." Sunny glared. "Thankfully Dale and the others saved me."

"Well that's good. Last time I saw you boys, Dale didn't seem to be able to think for himself properly." Dale glared at his feet. He had been able to think for himself, he just wasn't able to think as well as he used to. He had gotten better over the years, and now he even had his mind back to the way it was.

*Smack* Ms. Grey had smacked Sunny on the back of the head. "Where are your manners? There is nothing wrong with Dalton, and you need to behave!"

"OW! Nanna? I didn't do anything wrong!"

Chip and Dale looked at each other and then started to laugh. They had almost forgotten how protective Ms. Grey was of them. She treated everyone who came into her orphanage like they were her own children, and Chip and Dale were no exception.


	9. Chapter 8: El Acorno

A young chipmunk with a red nose and long red hair looked out over the ancient city that her family had ruled for years. She sighed as she saw her citizens imprisoned and slaving away for the cruel tyrant that had taken over. The only reason that she was alive was so that her people wouldn't rebel against their tyrannical leader, a tall muscular rat with a shaman's powers that had taken over shortly before her uncle and her cousins had gone into hiding. The rat's name was Tezoh. Her uncle had died trying to come back and rescue her, but she had never found out what had happened to her little cousins, Chipperson and Dalton Acorno of the royal family of El Acorno, the city of the Golden Acorn. She looked around until she spotted the tyrant. He had killed her father, and her uncle, but she was still alive.

She hoped with all her heart that the prophecy would come true in her people's favor. A traveling gypsy moth who had come before her father was killed

**_"When the golden twins arrive,_**

**_ And the guardian of the acorns is awakened, _**

**_The kingdom shall rise from their darkest hour._**

**_The twins shall return with a team of heroes._**

**_The inventor shall gain her father,_**

**_The adventurer shall gain his friend._**

**_The scout shall find the staff,_**

**_The brothers shall unlock the staff's powers."_**

It was the next half of the prediction that worried her though.

**_"Turned to gold the powers of heart,_**

**_Fly again powers of the soul._**

**_Twins shall fall and rise once more,_**

**_But never shall the royal twins rule again."_**

This meant that the twins of her uncle would not take the place of her uncle and father as the co-rulers of their city, as they had. Twins were a sacred part of their city and it's religion. To have a set of twins rule the city, like her father and uncle, usually meant a fruitful time and that the next generation was going to be a great ruler. Unfortunately, with the princess being held captive and the twins missing, the people didn't know what they could do.

Making sure that her guards were preoccupied at the moment, the young chipmunk made her way down to the royal prison. There was only one prisoner in there at the moment. He was a tall mouse with orange hair and a mustache. He also had a black nose and a set of broken goggles on his head along with a dirty old pilot's hat. His flight jacket and scarf were also torn and withered from age. The mouse looked up at the princess with his dark black eyes and gave a weak smile to encourage her. He had only arrived a few years ago by accident, but had been captured for being an outsider. He had crashed just outside the city and the guards had taken him prisoner. Had the princess not intervened, Tezoh would have killed him. Thanks to the princess, the mouse was allowed to live as a prisoner.

"Good morning, G."

"Morning, Cora." Princess Coralline smiled kindly to the older mouse. She hated being called Coralline, but it had been her mother's choice for her name. "Something's going to happen… I can feel it in my bones… I'm going to fly again…"

"I hope you're right, Geegaw… I wouldn't mind letting you fly again… I'd actually like to see a flying machine…"

"How about I tell you about my daughter again? You always like hearing about her."

"That's because you make her sound so amazing…"

"Hehe, one day I hope to let you meet her for real, then you'll see just how amazing she really is."

"Me too."

**_Okay, so this chapter is a bit of a hint for things to come as well as a bit of a predictor on what's going to happen. Do you recognize some of the characters that I've listed here? Haha, have fun with this folks. :D ;D_**


	10. Chapter 9:Our Old Home

The Rescue Rangers spent a week meeting the people who knew "Chipperson" and "Dalton", the detective twins from their childhood. Apparently, they had run off when they had been fifteen, but had arrived with their father when they were three. Their father had died when they were six, or at least they assumed he had, having gone missing one day. The gang had been formed when the Chipmunk Twins as they were also known, had turned twenty. The gang had met with the local children that had been trouble before Chip and Dale had turned them around, and the local trouble that had stayed trouble. Thankfully, Monterey had made sure that the troublemakers didn't give the boys any trouble.

Today was Friday though, and Gadget had decided that Chip was ready to get out of the wheelchair. The Rescue Rangers had been staying in the orphanage with Ms. Grey, as she had insisted on it, but Chip and Dale wanted to check out something on their own.

"This is it, Dale…"

"Yeah…" The two chipmunk twins were standing in front of an old tree stump that had once been their house. The windows had cobwebs in them, and the door looked worn. "Um… Chip… I'm…"

"Scared?" The red nosed chipmunk nodded slowly. "Me too… together?"

"Right." The two chipmunks slowly made their way to the abandoned tree stump house and slowly opened the door. The old place still looked just like they had left it, only dustier, much to the surprise of the two chipmunks. "You know… I keep hoping that he'll come back and scold us for not cleaning our room…"

"Yeah… me too. Speaking of cleaning…" Chip walked over to an old closet and pulled out an even older looking broom. He also pulled out a mop and handed that to his brother. "Ready?"

"Ready."

"Clean!" The two shouted in unison as they started their attack on the dust bunnies in their old home. After two hours, there was a knock on the door. The boys had just finished cleaning up the old tree stump and were curious as to who it could be.

"Um, hello?" Dale stuck his head out carefully and frowned at what he found. It was Johnny No-legs, the snake. Dale took a deep breath. "Chip, Johnny's here to say hi."

The snake looked at the chipmunk funny. He thought for sure that the little furball would run for the hills at the sight of a large green snake with a baseball hat on backwards.

"Coming, Dale." Chip smirked and adjusted his hat. He then looked at the chair that Dale had been sitting on and noticed his bag. It had Danger Dale, or rather, Dalton's, hat and jacket. Chip shook his head and smiled as he left it there and walked to the door. "Hello, Johnny. How can we help you?"

"You aren't scared of me?" The twins looked at each other and then started laughing. "Wha? What's so funny?"

Dale was the first to recover from his laughter. "Hehehe, oh man… heh, Johnny, we haven't been scared of you since we were kids!"

"Yeah! We face scarier things just going outside our new home."

The snake's eye twitched. "Just what kind of chipmunks are you?"

Dale looked at the snake square in the eyes. "Hey, Chip. I don't think he recognizes us."

"You know, I think you're right, Dale." Chip gave a devious grin. "Maybe he'll recognize our real names better."

Dale sighed. "Yeah, but I hate my real name."

"So do I, but he won't recognize us without them."

"Ugh, fine."

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!" The snake shouted. The two chipmunks rolled their eyes.

Dale pointed to himself. "Dalton Chipmunk," then he pointed to his twin. "Chipperson Chipmunk."

It took a minute before the snake's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Within the next 20 seconds, the snake then slithered off, screaming at the top of his lungs about ghosts and dead chipmunks.

"How long do you think it'll take before he stops?"

"Remember the river?"

"That's about two miles away, what about it?"

"That's how long."

The two just kept laughing at the thought of the bully running away from them. Things had certainly got interesting since they had left.


	11. Chapter 10:Escape

It was a late night, and all the guards were sleeping. Cora had been planning the escape for years. She had managed to get the key for the prison and she knew some underground tunnels. She had been trying to escape for years, each time nearly getting caught. Since Geegaw had been captured though, she had just been planning. Now she was ready. She had secured some food and rope, as well as a bag and some water skins. Tonight was a moonless night, and she had waited for a blessing from her ancestors, or at least a sign. Tonight, she saw the sign. The picture of her cousins had lit up as though on fire. She stared at the picture intently until it transformed from a picture of two toddler chipmunks, to a picture of one adventurer chipmunk with a black nose, and a red nosed chipmunk wearing a red Hawaiian shirt with yellow flowers.

"Chipperson and Dalton! They're still alive!"

Cora snuck down to the dungeons and found Geegaw, much to her surprise, awake and waiting at his cell door for her. Geegaw smirked. "Some chipmunk told me you'd show up."

"What? But there aren't many chipmunks in the city save for the royal family!"

"Heh, I know, but that's not the strangest bit."

"What's the strangest bit?"

"He said that I'd be meeting your cousins, seeing my daughter, and to tell you that your parents say hi."

"What?"

"The fellow was a strange chipmunk wearing the royal prince necklace around him but also wearing an explorer's hat, coat, and bag. I think he said his name was Dallas? He had a black nose and spoke sorta high pitched too."

"Uncle Dallas? But he's dead!"

"So I heard. That would also explain why he faded just before you arrived."

Cora shook her head. "We need to get out of here." She inserted the key and unlocked the door carefully. The two of them then snuck out as quiet as they could to the nearest tree. From there the two of them ran across the treetops in the silence of the night. It was the first time that Cora had ever left her home, but she silently vowed that she'd return and reclaim her kingdom. You don't mess with an Acorno and expect to get away with it.

**_Okay, so I got Geegaw and Cora out of there, but dead chipmunks bringing messages? Oh boy. What next?_**


	12. Chapter 11:Memories

Chip and Dale had let their friends know that they would be spending the night in their old home. Ms. Grey had agreed that it would be a good idea. Chip and Dale sat on the edge of their old bunk bed, looking at the picture on the wall. It was a picture of their father, the adventurer known as Dallas Chipmunk. He was wearing an outfit that was similar to the one that he had given the twins when they were kids. The only difference that really stood out was the golden coin like necklace that he wore. Dale had once asked about the strange amulet that his father wore.

_"I'll let you boys in on the secret." Dallas smiled kindly as he spoke to his twin sons. It was one of those summer evenings that they usually spent together since moving to the Redwood village. "It means that I'm a prince."_

_"A prince?" young Chipperson asked as he looked at the shiny item._

_"Yep. I'm a prince from an ancient city, and your uncle Chris is the king. You also have an older cousin named Coralline. She's the royal princess."_

_"Wow." Dalton's big brown eyes widened at the thought of being royalty. They vaguely remembered their cousin. "Are we princes too?"_

_Dallas smiled and ruffled the red nosed boy's fur. "You bet your acorns you are. You even have your own amulets."_

_"We do?" Chipperson's eyes widened as he heard this. "Where are they?"_

_Dallas smiled. "I'm afraid when we left the city, we had to leave them behind. Don't worry though. I left them in a very special place with one of the city's artifacts."_

_"An artifact? What's an artifact, dad?" Chipperson couldn't help but ask as his curiosity was peaked._

_"A treasure if you will. I left them with a very special one too. I left them with the Staff of the Guardians."_

_"The staff of the guardians?" Dalton asked as he looked once more at his father's amulet. It was shiny and had a golden acorn on it._

_"Yes. The staff was said to summon the Guardian of the Acorns, but it was said that the guardian was uncontrollable, so no one has summoned it for centuries. No one even remembers what it's supposed to look like or why it exists anymore."_

_"WHOA!" the twins chorused in awe. Their father always told amazing stories…_

"Chip…"

"Yeah, Dale…?"

"I miss dad…"

"So do I…"

"That city… our cousin… you remember…"

"Yeah… we can ask the others if they want to join us…"

"Yeah, we don't …" *THUMP* "What was that, Chip?"

"I don't know, let's check it out!"

The two chipmunks ran out of their house and found a female chipmunk that was slightly older than them trying to carry an unconscious mouse on her back while shooting a slingshot at a red eyed owl. "Stay away!" Her voice was lighter than Dale's but strong as well. She had a regal feel about her, like she was royalty. She also looked like Dale when he disguised himself as a girl for some of their missions. "Stay away, you beast!"

"Dale!"

"On it, Chip!" Dale brought out his slingshot again, being the better shot of the two of them, and shot some pebbles at the angry owl while Chip helped the female chipmunk carry the unconscious mouse into their tree stump. Dale made his way back with his slingshot still loaded. "And stay away from this place!"

When he entered the house, Chip had already gotten the unconscious mouse onto the old couch and had the young chipmunk sitting on one of the chairs that the boys had cleaned up. "Are you okay, miss?"

"Yes, thank you. Tezoh summoned that beast once he found out about our escape… my poor city… my people are suffering… I need to find help…" She was near crying.

"Easy, easy, don't worry, we'll help you. Dale, you stay here with them while I get the other Rescue Rangers. Our own quest will have to wait."

"Right, Chipper." Dale saluted and went to the kitchen to get the young chipmunk something to drink and look for something for injured mouse. They had already put some of their own supplies in the house, and Dale was sure that he remembered where to go if he needed to find anything more.

"Ma'am, I need you to stay here with my brother. I promise, I'll come back within an hour with help, alright?"

The young red haired chipmunk looked at the boy as he adjusted his hat. "Alright… thank you… My name is Coralline."

Chip froze for a second and shook off his shock. "My name's Chipperson, but everyone calls me Chip now. Nice to meet you, cousin."


	13. Chapter 12:Fathers and their Tails

Geegaw Hackwrench felt strange from the moment he awoke. He felt like something was off. He placed a hand to his head and figured it out. His goggles were off, as was his hat. On his forehead was a damp cloth. "Ugh…"

"Mr. Hackwrench! Are you okay?" He turned his head towards the princess that had been his friend for the past few years. Standing behind her was another chipmunk who looked just like the ghost that had told him she would help him break out of the prison. He looked stunned, as though he saw a ghost as well. "Geegaw?"

"Heh, I'm alright, Cora. No worries. That owl didn't hurt you did it?"

"No, it didn't. My cousins took care of the owl! We actually ran into my cousins!" Cora was so happy that she was near crying. She hadn't expected to find them so quickly, or at all even, as she had assumed that they had survived on some other part of the world.

"Hehe, good for you." Geegaw sat up and checked himself for any long lasting damage. He was relieved to find that he was just find. "Nice to meet you, I'm Geegaw Hackwrench and…" *Thud* Dale had fainted. "Oh my! Is he alright?"

Just then, Monterey opened the door. "… and you're sure that you're recovered enough to help? I mean…!" Monterey froze where he was when he saw the mouse sitting up on the couch and the two chipmunks in the room. Dale shook his head as he started to snap out of his shock. "Tooraloo!" His voice now a whisper as he saw the tall lanky mouse. He backed out slowly, hoping he hadn't been seen yet. His eyes wide with shock and disbelief. "Gadget, love, what did you say happened to your father?"

"Dad? I said I lost him a few years ago, about a year and a half before we started the Rescue Rangers. I told you that… Why?"

"Uh-huh, but how did you lose him?"

"He just disappeared off the face of the earth. His plane crashed and he was never found, that's all. I tried to find him, but could never find anything in the coordinates I had. Actually, now that I think about it, his last known coordinates were actually close to somewhere around here."

"That's what I thought…" Monterey's ears drooped, as well as his mustache, as he scratched his head.

"What's wrong, Monterey?" Chip asked confused. Zipper took a peek through one of the windows, gasped and then whispered something to Monterey who just nodded.

"Gadget, why don't you take a look inside while I see if I can figure out why I'm seeing ghosts…"

"Ghosts?" Chip scratched his head in confusion.

"Yeah… ghosts…" Monterey grimaced while rubbing his head. "You know, like that time we went to London and met my ancestor?"

Gadget rolled her eyes as she opened the door. "Look, Monty, I'm sure whatever's in here isn't that bad…" Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened at the sight of the mouse who was in the house with the two chipmunks. "Dad?"

Geegaw turned towards the timid squeak of his daughter with his own shock. "Gadget?"

"Dad!" Gadget ran to her father and jumped into a hug as he held his hands out for the young lady.

"Gadget, honey, aren't you a sight for sore eyes!" He hugged his little girl tightly in his arms while Chip and Dale listened to their cousin's explanation on what had been going on in their city since the twins and their father had left. "How did you get here?"

"We flew in the Ranger plane! I'm part of the Rescue Rangers." She then pointed out the twin chipmunks. "These are my friends, Chip and Dale… Oh, and Monterey is outside with Zipper!"

"Monterey? Why I haven't seen that bloke since Zanzibar! Haha, well then, I better go out there and tell him hello." Geegaw smiled as his daughter led him outside. All in all, it was an interesting evening.


End file.
